5. Something For Nothing (Rush- Live in Beaumont, 3/4/1979)

Time for another Hemispheres Tour show! This show captures Rush performing at the defunct Fair Park Arena in Beaumont, Texas. (It's labeled as being from Philadelphia but Geddy clearly mentions Beaumont in "In The Mood") The quality of the show isn't the best, it's distorted and muffled, but it's still alright. It's also mostly complete, with a few small cuts. The show is a strong one, as everyone plays well. However, being well into the tour, Geddy's voice has degraded significantly, the high notes are now weak and airy, and drop phrasing is frequent. Some performances are fine, but not many. Now, to go through the songs. "Anthem" is a typical weak version for the tour with speak-singing aplenty and him not going for the "wonders in the world" notes, "A Passage To Bangkok" sounds fine, but some of the high notes lack power, "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" features weak highs through the whole song, though he hits a strong A5 on "Square for BATTLE" and the band jam rocks, "Xanadu" has a lovely intro, and the main song is one of the better performances on the show as most of the high notes are strong, and "Something For Nothing" has lots of drop phrasing, though the highs sound strong. "The Trees" isn't very demanding, so It sounds good, "Cygnus X-1" is a major surprise! Part I sounds great, and on "to soar", he slides up to his HIGHEST NOTE EVER, A D6! What a find! Part II however has some intonation problems but mostly sounds good, and Part III sounds strong as well. "Hemispheres" isn't too hot, the "Prelude" has great playing and Geddy hits the high notes well, but "Apollo" and "Dionysus" sound weaker with him not going for most of the high notes. However, the rest sounds good, as "Armageddon" has strong singing, "Cygnus" has wonderfully eerie synth lines and strong vocals, and "The Sphere" is beautiful! "Closer To The Heart" and "Circumstances" are typically good, "A Farewell to Kings" blazes along, and Geddy sounds fine, and "La Villa Strangiato" sounds great! "2112" however is weak. The "Overture" has Geddy failing the climb, though he hits the F#5, "Temples of Syrinx" sounds awful as all the high notes are airy and weak, "Discovery" features awesome guitar parts, including the proto-"Red Barchetta" and strong vocals, "Presentation" has speak singing and weak highs, though the guitar solo is amazing, "Soliloquy" still sounds emotional, and "Grand Finale" rocks! Final songs: "Working Man" has killer jamming and strong vocals, "Bastille Day" blazes along, and Geddy somehow hits the notes well, and "In The Mood" is studio sung! ENJOY!

Added 9 Sept 2026